Congo Signs the Lobito Corridor Rail Concession With Mota-Engil
Kinshasa has signed away 30 years of the Dilolo-Sakania railway for an indicative US$1.258 billion, a 7.5 percent royalty and a seat at the table. The post Congo Signs the Lobito Corridor Rail Concession With Mota-Engil appeared first on The Rio Times .
On 26 August 2026, the Republic of the Congo signed a railway concession contract with Portuguese construction group Mota-Engil. The agreement covers the Dilolo–Sakania railway, a 1,004.5-kilometre line that runs from the Angolan border to the Zambian border, passing through Kolwezi, Tenke, and Lubumbashi. The project aims to rehabilitate, modernize, extend, operate, and maintain the railway over a period of 30 years.
The indicative investment cost is close to US$1.258 billion, which includes studies, rehabilitation, modernization, extension, operation, and maintenance. At the end of the contract, all infrastructure assets will be returned to the Congolese state.
President Félix Tshisekedi highlighted that logistics can account for up to 30 percent of the final price of Congolese copper and cobalt. By improving the railway infrastructure, Tshisekedi argued, the cost of these metals could be reduced, making them more competitive in international markets. The concession is expected to bring the metal from the Congolese mines to overseas markets more efficiently, as the Lobito Corridor offers an alternative route to the existing landlocked transportation routes, which are long, congested, and expensive.
Tshisekedi also mentioned that the Congolese state will retain at least a 10 percent stake in the project company and a 7.5 percent royalty on annual gross revenue. The concessionaire, Mota-Engil, will assume all financing and traffic risks, with no sovereign guarantee or operating subsidy from the Congolese government. This clean separation of risks is considered a positive feature for African infrastructure projects, as many previous deals have left host states responsible for unfulfilled demand.
Local-content obligations are also part of the agreement, requiring Mota-Engil to create Congolese jobs, train young workers, subcontract to national firms, and transfer technology. This approach aims to promote local development and technology transfer alongside infrastructure upgrades.
The Lobito Corridor is significant for the Congo and its neighbors in Africa, as it can help decrease the cost of transporting Congolese metal exports, thereby benefiting the local economy. The concession is framed as a challenge to Chinese infrastructure lending in Africa, with Portuguese construction groups like Mota-Engil playing a central role in the region's development.
Written by urgent.news from The Rio Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
